"I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin"At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Industry Reviews

'If you like fresh, take-no-prisoners fantasy, this is for you'No.1 New York Times bestselling author Rick Riordan

`Dark, passionate, tense, with a female hero anyone could relate to-I was utterly fascinated! This is no pretty, flowery tale, but one of vastly different people struggling to survive when a hostile government comes to power' - No.1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce

`This is a book very distinct from everything that came before; what it has in common though is a narrative that pulls no punches, and characters that are beautifully, brokenly, repellently, cleverly human' Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews

`I had never thought it was possible to find a greater character than the Emperor Jorg Ancrath. I had never even slightly considered that there might be a fantasy world out there toppling that of he Final Empire, and most definitely, I had never thought that i could love a book more than The Night Angel. But here we are' BookNest

`Any other author is going to have to smack the ball way, way out of the park to top this read' Parmenion Books

clever and original

4

Red Sister is the first in the Book of the Ancestor series, by British author, Mark Lawrence. In the world of Abeth, Nona Grey is given to Giljohn, the child-taker, by the village that doesn't want her. After some months travelling in a cage of children, she is purchased by Partnis Reeve, the Caltess fight-hall owner in the city of Verity. That each of these changes is a genuine step up from the last says much about her village. When she is about to be hung without trial, the Abbess Glass plucks her from the gallows, taking her to the Sweet Mercy Convent to be trained as a nun.
As a novice, Nona will undergo years of training, while her gifts and talents are assessed. The ultimate path she follows will depend on these, and if she is skilled in armed and unarmed combat, she may become a Martial Sister (Red Sister). But before Nona even arrives at Sweet Mercy, she seems to have stepped on some influential toes, toes of the rich and vengeful. More than one attempt is made to remove her and, as these are no sedate, non-violent nuns, quite a bit of bloodshed ensues.
Lawrence begins his tale with a prologue that entices the reader to read beyond the first book, reinforcing that halfway through with another intriguing piece. As the reader follows Nona's journey, Lawrence seamlessly builds his fascinating world, throwing in twists and red herrings to keep the tale interesting, before building to a dramatic climax. He kindly includes at the beginning an author's note that can be referred to for information about characters and their world. Fans will look forward to Book Two, Grey Sister. Clever and original.